Thank you again. White Collar is now AU, since we now know who left Neal the key and card. Chuck was already AU.

Someone was knocking at the door.

Neal turned to it, glass of red in one hand and the mysterious card that was sitting with the storage key. He goes over the day, to make sure that the case with Peter is over, that Moz was supposedly occupied tonight. That Alex wasn't in town. He set down the glass and pocketed the card so no one would see it.

He opened the door to see Chuck holding a pizza with breadsticks. Sarah was carrying salad fixings and Bryce was holding two bottles of a decent red. "Didn't I see just see you four weeks ago? It's a little soon for a visit," he joked, stepping aside.

Chuck set up the pizza while Sarah prepped the salad. Bryce and Neal ended up gathering plates and glasses. The slices of pizza were split between them and they're munching quickly. Chuck and Bryce were talking about scenarios in Call of Duty. Sarah decided to pick Neal's brain on wines and other food areas for the wedding.

Neal heard the bottle being picked up and glanced at Bryce, who was filling his glass for the third time. He had downed one glass and another while talking to Chuck. Now, he was badly getting agitated by the talk that Neal and Sarah were having. He gulped through the third glass quickly. Not good, Bryce. He made eye contact with Chuck, who nodded and took the wine under the pretense of topping off his glass. He made sure to keep it out of Bryces arm length.

"So, Bryce, where are you planning on living?" Neal asked, trying to keep his attention somewhere else.

"Burbank," he told him, not very enthusiastically. He finished off his glass and started going after the bottle, which he then noticed had been moved. "Chuck, please pass the bottle."

"I think three glasses is enough," he firmly voiced. Sarah finished off her second and Chuck was still on his first, albeit topped off, glass. He went to grab another bottle, but Neal cut him off. After a few minutes of staring and glaring at each other, Bryce went out to the balcony and out of sight for the three of them.

"I'll go after him," Neal volunteered. He closed the door after him and moved toward the area Bryce walked. Neal spotted him curled up by the table. He moved to be next to him.

"Neal," Bryce warned, staring straight ahead when he sat down. Neal didn't say anything, just wrapped an arm around him. After a few minutes, he shakily said, "There were girls parading themselves around in college. All of them were self-absorb, pretentious bitches that dumped me after they found out about the games, the comics, the movies. Jill was the only one that liked that stuff and she was never interested in me. She was barely interested in Chuck. None of the other guys were as invested as Chuck and me. Chuck was the only one that I connected with."

He wiped his eyes quickly and continued. "I was paired with Sarah for a mission. We were to be a young, engaged couple that was taking a vacation. I saw her taking out two guys and I fell, hard. We managed to get through the mission quicker than expected and used one day for relaxation. The Agency kept pairing us up; we kept going through missions faster than other agents. After one mission, we were given time to rest. That week, we connected in a different way. We started seeing each other outside of the missions. A lot of people assumed that we were a perfect couple."

"Jack knew and he said that three could work in a relationship, but I don't see it happening with them. They're complete together, why do they need someone else?" His laugh was a bit wet and tears were streaming down his face.

Neal breathed deeply and pulled Bryce closer. "It's not about completing something or fitting into an open slot. Sometimes, it's about people who are willing to share love and accept another as they accepted each other," he soothed, "It's about giving even when you don't think you receive back because it will always come back in some form. You treat each of them the way they individually deserve. It's not easy, but it will work, given time."

He spotted Chuck and Sarah hanging by the open door to the apartment. He waved them over. "And at some point, you need to give them a chance to think and talk before you react." He got up just as Chuck decided to sit down next to Bryce. Sarah knelt in front of him. Neal walked back inside to give them privacy.

He cleaned up everything and started rinsing items when they walked back inside. Bryces eyes were red, but he wasn't crying anymore. Chuck had a hand rested on his back and another on Sarahs. Neal just nodded as they walked out the door and left. He didn't blame them; they had a lot to talk about.

*blinks* *blinks some more* I am so sorry. I have no idea that got sappy. I never used to write that stuff.

Review, please.